Thursday, 26 January 2017

GUEST BLOG: IN CONVERSATION WITH PAUL EAST, WINGS TRAVEL MANAGEMENT

Safety:
traveller security will remain a key focus for corporates as random,
indiscriminate attacks seem to have become the latest terrorism tactic.

Cost
control:whilst some companies are
experiencing growth, business confidence could fade quickly given the general
air of economic and trade uncertainty concerning Brexit, US political changes,
and other global factors.

Legislation:
we are all waiting to hear if and when Article 50 will be triggered, and what
it will mean for trade. Companies may need to keep a close eye on how new
legislation will impact on their business

What effect
has terrorism had on business travellers?

A recent business travel survey revealed 49% of
travellers feel less safe on business trips than they did 12 months ago. 94%
would opt for GPS tracking if travelling to a high-risk market.

How can TMCs help
companies fulfil their duty of care? Can technology help?

It’s important that your TMC takes
a holistic approach to supporting clients with traveller safety, risk
management and traveller tracking in times of emergency. It’s not just about
providing travellers with a mobile app. It’s also about your TMC’s staff having
the knowledge and expertise to make the best use of traveller tracking tools so
that they provide accurate, timely and relevant support. Many of our clients
are travelling to high risk destinations, so traveller safety is at the core of
our operations. Our new GoSecure™ technology is a sophisticated risk and alert
portal that allows Wings’ consultants to locate travellers and send high level,
personal notifications to travellers and bookers – for example telling a
traveller to stay in his or her hotel due to a terrorist threat outside.
However it’s also important that all parties involved in traveller safety work
closely together: TMC, client’s travel manager/buyer, the corporate’s insurance
provider and security firm, so that we are all aligned in terms of the crisis
management process.

What can make
a difference in a crisis?

Work
with a TMC that has wholly owned and managed global offices in key high risk
markets, and doesn’t just have partnership agreements with local agents, to
ensure you get consistency of service

Also
check that your TMC operates off a single global technology platform in each
market where you are sending your travellers. This means the TMC can access a
client’s travel records instantly worldwide which is crucial for tracking and re-routing travellers

Can most corporates reduce their travel budget?

Absolutely.
Around 60% of our clients are in the energy sector. When the price of oil fell
dramatically last year, many of these clients were forced to reduce costs
across-the-board, including travel and asked us to generate savings of as much
as 20 per cent. We were able to identify, communicate and implement vital
savings for them during this difficult time, by reviewing travel authorisation,
setting up new airline deals, consolidating hotel spend and changing rail
travel policy, all without comprising on traveller safety.

What do you
think will be the big trend for 2017?

Rollercoasters!We will see months where UK PLC shows positive numbers and growth
followed by months where business confidence will diminish and the economy
could stall.

Wings Travel Management (www.wings.travel) will be demonstrating
GoSecure, its new risk management portal, on stand B144 at the Business Travel Show. You can hear more from Paul East on the conference panel discussing how to build a crisis management plan.